


Newcomers to the hellmouth

by WholockianDalek



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/F, High School, Sisters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-03-19 13:17:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13705269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WholockianDalek/pseuds/WholockianDalek
Summary: Two new girls show up at sunny Dale high. They have strange powers and try to befriend buffy.





	1. First  Contact

There was power here. Lethe could feel it. Most of it was radiating from the cute blonde. A lot was coming from the library. As she clicked her fingers - creating small sparks and sparkles, she could hear the same little explosions behind her. Styx was trying as well. She delved deeply into her thoughts and flipped over the brains in the class looking for her sister’s familiar thought patterns. Catching onto them, she added a whisper of “Careful, we don’t want to get kicked out of this one too. It’s so tasty here.”

“Why don’t you girls introduce yourselves to the class?” suggested Ms Clark, gesturing towards the two of them. Lethe looked at her sister, tilted her head towards the front of the class, and the two got up and stood in front of the staring students. 

“Hi, I'm Penelope, and this is my sister,” said Lethe, pointing to Styx.  
“I'm Eleanor. We're both 17, twins actually, and this is our,” she paused for a few seconds, “eight high school?”

“I think just seventh, there were… circumstances. It's not our fault for five of them.” interrupted Lethe.

Slightly worried, Styx reached out internally to catch her sisters thoughts.  
“This isn't going well. Say something witty then let's sit down.” she told her.

“We will try not to get kicked out or run away from this one.” said Lethe with an awkward smile. 

Unsure of what to do next, the two walked back to their seats. As she was walking over, Lethe’s gaze was drawn back to the blonde girl. A faint blue glow was emanating around her, but Lethe doubted that anyone else in the class - apart from her sister - could see this. Her hair was quite messy and actually had a leaf in it, but looked like some effort had been put into it recently. It was rather incoherent. Similarly, she was wearing an extremely nice dress but it was torn near the bottom, to the right. Her nails had been painted recently but one was chipped and broken. 

For the first ten or so minutes, both sisters really tried to pay attention. Styx drifted into her own thoughts faster than Lethe, but was then quickly joined. The two chatted merrily, throwing magical pulses of thought between each other about their impressions of the class. Having given an interpretation of each person, they left each other's minds and started surfing the frequencies of the class, trying to break into someone's mind. Lethe was fixated on the cute blonde but had nowhere near enough information about her to pick out her thoughts. It was an extremely intricate process of recognition that usually required mutual understanding. Once you had a person’s patterns it was easy, but first contact is near impossible. 

At the end of the class, Lethe was too fascinated by the strange vibes she was getting from the girl to do anything other than talk to her. She played through a thousand different openers and situations but nothing seemed casual.

Then, too fixated on her thoughts to look around, she was walked into by an equally preoccupied Buffy.

“Sorry! You're the new girl! Penelope right?”

Lethe flinched slightly at the sound of her given name.

“Only my dad and generally people I hate call me that. You can call me Penny.” 

Lethe was trying to stay calm. The small patch of skin where they had collided was tingling pleasantly. Now that they were closer together, Lethe could take a slightly closer look at Buffy. She seemed to have fixed her hair but her dress was still damaged, and she seemed to be covered in very small scars. This girl was a huge mystery. 

“Buffy, this is my sister. El, this is Buffy.” 

Styx could clearly feel the power just as clearly as Lethe.

“We've got a free now, why don't we ask her to hang out?” suggested Styx, trying to communicate telepathically but accidentally mouthing out the words simultaneously.

“If you ask she's going to say yes.” interrupted Buffy, laughing.

Styx blushes scarlet and hid behind her sister. Not daring to try anything telepathic again, she whispered to her sister, “Do you think she could be Acheron? She has power and it's mystical but I don't think she's a wicca.”

As Buffy waited to see if they would talk to her, Willow appeared from behind her and tapped her shoulder. Overexcited by the rush of Strawberry flavoured power emanating from the her, Styx yelled “Phlegethon”, and continued to hide behind her sister.

Lethe - slightly more confident - marched forwards and shook Willow’s hand. Suddenly surprised by her lack of cover, Styx looked around panicked and then scurried into position behind her sister.

“Hi, Im Penny and this is El. I was hoping we- Buffy but also you if you like- could hang out. Do you know any cool places in town? Maybe somewhere vaguely quiet, I'm not great with huge crowds. I can bring food, we could have an after school dinner picnic.”

Buffy was smiling happily until the words after school. The grounds were dangerous at night and she really didn't want to have to go full slayer in front of anyone new. However, she also had to fulfil her duties and patrol at night.

“I've got some work I need to get on with, but sure why not it could be- wait I have to take care of my sister tonight. My mom's working.”

Styx was now excitedly pulling at her sister’s arm and yelling “Invite them all!” into her head.

“Shh, quiet sweetie. You're giving me a headache.” she projected.

“You can bring your sister too. It can be a fun family gathering. I get what it's like with your mom though, my dad can be a real demon. It's really annoying sometimes.” squealed Styx, trying to keep herself grounded.

“I can make enough for everyone, it'll be nice. I still don't know where though.” suggested Lethe.

“I'll surprise you, come to my house at 7 and I'll bring you.” Buffy was smiling widely but there was no sparkle in her eyes. Lethe could feel that something was slightly wrong.

“It might be easier if you come to mine, we don’t know the town.” said Lethe, handing Buffy a slip of paper with her address. 

Styx, too fuelled by excitement to notice, bounced excitedly and hugged Buffy violently, before backing off wishing she hadn't. Not everyone likes that much physical contact.

“I'll see you there, now we should go before this one explodes.” laughed Lethe, gently taking her sister’s hand and guiding her away. As both pairs walked away from each other, they were thinking the same thing. Make sure they don't find out just yet.


	2. Interrupted outing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy, Lethe and Styx go to the park after a small issue with Lethe and Styx's father. When they were having the picnic, a vampire crept up on them and they were forced to reveal their identities.

Sitting together on the couch, Lethe pleaded with her father to let the two of them go out.

“Please sir. It's our first night in this town and socialising will help us get in with a normal lifestyle. Isn't that what you want?”

The man hit his daughter across the face.

“Never, ever, try to manipulate me. You aren't going out ton- What was I saying?”

“You were telling me I had to go out and socialise tonight. It's our first day here can't we just sleep…” Lethe put slightly more fear into her voice this time around, so as not to threaten his authority.

“You are going out tonight.” he yelled, stomping his foot decisively.

“I thought you could only wipe Hades by touching him.” projected Styx. Lethe answered by simply pointing at the slight red tint on her cheek. Fully invested in the charade that Lethe was preparing, Styx played annoyed and told Lethe, in a frustrated but not too critical so as not to anger Hades, that she would invite someone over. A few minutes later, Buffy arrived at their door. It had been acted out perfectly. 

At first, Lethe opened the door and greeted Buffy, trying to get them out as soon as possible to avoid contact between her new friend and her father.

“Hey, everything alright with your dad for...” asked Buffy, clearly trying to do the usual new friend protocol but doubting herself after the look on Styx’s face. It was too late, he was coming over.

“I'm Brian, Penelope and Elizabeth’s father. You’re going to help make sure my girls behave, They will be home before midnight.” he stated. Surprised, Buffy echoed his formal behaviour and held out a hand which he shook, squeezing tightly then flinching at Buffy’s reciprocated strength. With an aggressive parting look, they separated and the three girls set off. At the end of the driveway, they met Willow and Dawn then all five followed Buffy to her planned location. 

“Did you see the look on Hades’ face?” giggled Styx into Lethe’s mind. “She's going to come in handy.”

After walking for a few minutes, they reached the top of a hill. To the left, the empty school building shimmered in the moonlight like a freshly cleaned carcass. Just underneath it, the quiet night life of Sunnydale played out. A drunk man outside a café threw an empty can at a rat. A shopkeeper swept up outside their porch. A vampire roamed the main street. All five had seen it, but all pretended it was just another passerby. Around them, Sunnydale’s twelve graveyards stretched further than they could see. No huge action was supposed to happen tonight, but anything was possible.

Pulling sandwiches and an entire roast chicken out of her basket, alongside a big flask of lemonade - homemade by Dawn, Buffy sat down on a plaid carpet and was quickly joined by the other four. Gradually, they got comfortable and started chatting casually. The conversation was mostly Sunnydale centered, but gradually shifted towards Lethe’s past. 

“So what happened at your old school? Schools…?” asked Buffy, causing the casual chatty atmosphere to break.

“We got into… problematic crowds. People who did some dangerous things. We were trying to stop them but got expelled in the process.” said Styx, slightly uncertain.

“But she's not saying it wasn't our fault. We fully accept the responsibility and all that…” added Lethe.

“Don't worry!” laughed Buffy, “I'm not here to report you to the school board. You don't have to watch what you say with me.”

Three of them - Buffy, Lethe and Styx - laughed, for exactly the same reason but not knowing this was the other one’s justification. They definitely had to watch what they said. Gradually, the vampire in the alley edged towards them. Anxiously, Styx yelled to Lethe, “We have to deal with him! He's going to hurt our new friends!”

“What did you say El?” asked Buffy. Styx had been mouthing the words without noticing.

“Nothing. It's fine.” muttered Styx. Lethe wasn't going to risk answering, but focused really hard on the vampire trying to magically set it on fire. Unfortunately, the sun was down so there was very little of that element around. She couldn't get the energy for it. She would need the vampire to be closer.

They started their conversation and, to the horror of the three prepared to fight, they lost track of where the vampire had ended up. They had let themselves get side tracked by socialising. The vampire slowly edged forwards, mistakenly seeing the three teenage girls as some easy prey. In the bush behind them, the vampire leapt. A stick broke, all three turned suddenly turned.

“WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN WHEN I’M MAKING FRIENDS!” yelled the three of them, simultaneously. 

Buffy reached into her coat for a stake.

Lethe summoned a fireball.

Styx cast a wall around the vampire.

Willow and Dawn hid behind Buffy.

The five starred into each other’s faces. There was going to be some explaining to do.


	3. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy reveals her secret slayer identity to Lethe and Styx, who explain about the rivers of Hades and initiate three new members into their group.

Far less used to normal people suddenly being mystical, Lethe and Styx took the vital second longer to get used to the other group being armed to fight vampires and Buffy killed it first. 

“Why can’t I have any normal friends? Why doesn’t anyone ever go “Hey, she seems nice I’d love to hang out with her.” Why does slaying keep interfering with my social life?” said Buffy, with a mixture of frustration and resignation.

“Slaying? You do this often?” asked Styx, to an astounded look from Buffy.

“You mean you aren’t making friends with me because I’m the slayer?”

Lethe let out an audible gasp. Like any other witch, the two had heard about the slayer but thought she was a myth. 

“Right, well I just gave you my secret identity so now you have to give me yours.” said Buffy, partially kidding but also hoping to get a good answer.

Lethe and Styx quickly exchanged a few words telepathically.

“She’s the slayer? I thought that was made up?” yelled Styx. 

Buffy saw her mouthing something but couldn’t figure out what it was. Dawn, Willow and Buffy were now actively focusing on the lips of the two girls, noting that Lethe’s were entirely static but that Styx seemed to have less control. Willow seemed to have figured out what was going on and whispered “telepathy” to Buffy.

“Almost all the things we think are made up are real. If she’s really the slayer she will be the perfect Acheron - so much potential for causing pain. It’s wonderful. The other girl - Willow - there’s definitely magical potential there. I can teach her to wield fire, perfect for Phlegethon. The third one - Dawn. There’s something mystical there. I can’t quite place it but she’s definitely got a connection with realm barriers. She seems like a… teenage girl. Perfectly suitable for Cocytus, plenty of wailing.”

For this entire development of her argument, Styx had been nodding quietly which continued to aggravate Buffy, who really didn’t like being left out of a conversation happening just in front of her. 

“Right, you tell her. If I try I’d make us sound evil.” said Styx, out loud. This caused Buffy to reach into her coat for a weapon.

“Wow! First of all, we’re human so you aren’t allowed to kill us. We’re the rivers of Hell - or two of them at least.” Lethe started. Buffy glanced at Willow, confused but greeted with equal confusion and not the enlightened understanding she would have hoped to say. This would be so much easier if Giles was here…

 

“It’s a 12th century Wicca group. We used them for inspiration to create our own group, and we think we might be part of the bloodline.” Lethe explained. 

Buffy and Willow stared, completely lost. Dawn seemed quite bored and had returned to the lunch basket. Whatever this was, it was slayer business and she was never included so it didn’t matter. 

“What does… the bloodline do?” Willow asked tentatively. Lethe was trying to find a way of explaining without using her powers, so that it didn’t make it seem like she was attacking them.

“Will you let me show you?” 

Willow and Buffy both backed away, and Buffy pulled out a small knife. Dawn, however, got up excitedly and said quite loudly, “Do me! Do me!”

Checking at a glance that Buffy wasn’t about to kill her and sufficiently confident, Lethe started explaining how she was going to do this.

“I’m going to tell you a number. Easy number, let’s say 4. Okay? Your number is 4. I want you to remember that. Then I’m going to touch you, permission to touch you?” Lethe asked, to Dawn but also Buffy and Willow. The three agreed.

Very tentatively, Lethe brushed her hand against Dawn’s arm.

“What number did I tell you to remember?” 

Dawn stared at her, completely confused. She clearly remembered being told a number, being told it was important that she remembered, but she had absolutely no recollection of the number.

“What did you do to me? I don’t remember it, what did you do to me? What are you?” screamed Dawn, terrified at her inability to remember. Buffy stepped forwards, causing Lethe to back away frightened and Styx to cast a shield between them. To both witches’ relief however, Buffy was not advancing towards them but towards her sister. 

“Don’t worry Dawnie. I’ll figure this out.” Buffy then looked up at Lethe. “Explain.”

“I’m Lethe, the River of forgetfulness. I’m very good with memory tricks. I can put her memory back if you want, or I can leave her alone if she wants that better.”

Dawn walked up to Lethe, grabbed her wrist and put it against her arm. Lethe took this as consent to return the memory Lethe had taken.

“Four!” yelled Dawn, rushing around excitedly. 

“I’m Styx, the river of Hatred. I mess with feelings and anger, I can add it or take it away.” 

As a demonstration of this, she placed her hand against Buffy’s arm, and Buffy turned to Willow, face growing increasingly red. 

“You utter bitch! Why haven’t you helped me deal with this? I’ve been extremely lost and confused this whole conversation and you’re supposed to be the nerd! Honestly! Does Giles have to solve everything?!”

Overcome with rage, Buffy held out a fist and prepared to attack. Seeing Willow’s eyes gradually well up with tears and fear, Styx quickly returned Buffy’s usually sentiment towards Willow.

“That’s what pure hatred does… none of that was real Willow. Please don’t take it personally.”

Willow, finally, felt she had enough knowledge to make a comment.

“I thought there were 5 rivers in Hades? Are there three more of you?”

At this point, Lethe felt the need to double check things privately with her sister again.

“You can definitely see the glow around them, like when we got chosen?” she asked carefully.

“Definitely. All three of them. We’ve had huge luck with them. Try to connect, see if it works.” answered Styx.

“We were hoping you three could help. That makes five, and you would fit perfectly. We can see the raw power, in all three of you, and we think you three have been chosen, to join us.”

Buffy simply rolled her eyes, chosen again - how annoying. Dawn seemed overjoyed at finally being included in something mystical, but was confused about what kind of power the sisters were seeing in her. Willow still seemed to be trying to figure things out. She was also the most calm at this point so the easiest to find. 

“Willow. I need you to think of a short sentence or series of words and repeat it on loop in your head. Really really loudly in your thoughts.” explained Lethe, sitting on the wet grass in a cross legged position and indicating to Willow to do the same. Styx sat next to Lethe, the two facing the now quite confused Willow. 

“Blueberry muffins taste good.” said Willow, and then started repeating it silently, still moving her lips. Closing their eyes and intensely focused, Lethe reached out with her mind for this brain wave. First, she listened to Styx think it once. Then, she started looking for these same words but in someone else’s thoughts. After half a minute or so, where neither Buffy nor Dawn dared move but were extremely confused, Lethe found Willow.   
Suddenly, Willow screamed. A second voice was in her head, repeating the rather silly line of “Blueberry muffins taste good.”

To Willow’s utter shock, the voice in her head started saying it’s own words. “Hello Phlegethon. It’s nice to meet you properly. Try to find me.”

Greatly relieved that the voice was leaving her head and that the rest of the interaction would be on her own terms, Willow tried to find Lethe’s mind. Absolutely nothing happened. Quickly, Lethe came back, whispering encouraging words. She slowly faded out, making the signal she was sending weaker and weaker until Willow had to chase after it. Finally, Willow found her mind. 

“Amazing! You’re so quick at this! Now try with Styx while I do Buffy!” said Lethe out loud.

An hour or so later, and with far more effort than it had taken with Willow, the five could all communicate to each other. 

They were working on strengthening signals between themselves when Lethe’s watch went off. A look of utter dread and terror growing on the faces of Lethe and Styx, they rushed to pack up their stuff and go home. They were so overcome by the urgency that they forgot to explain what was happening.

“Home by 12. That’s what Hades… uhhh Dad said. We have to get home now!” yelled Lethe, filled with panic.

“It’s only 11 30, relax, you’ll make it just fine. Also Hades? What did he do to deserve that as a name?” asked Buffy, hoping that their stress was somewhat played and filled with worry that an apparently human father could cause this reaction in two powerful witches.

“Everything. If we don’t get home before 12 we’re never seeing you again. And remember! When we’re at my house I’m Penny and Styx is El. We really don’t have room for messing up.” 

Despite complaints from Cocytus (Dawn), the five got to Lethe and Styx’s house before 12 and greeted Hades, who was waiting at the door with a watch and a look of disappointment about the fact he would not be able to punish his girls tonight. 

“Goodnight Brian!” said Cocytus (Dawn), Phlegethon (Willow) and Acheron (Buffy) with appropriate politeness, following instructions given by Lethe and Styx so as to ensure that they could meet up some other time.

Lying awake that night, the five girls whispered to each other, created plenty of plans to perfect slaying with a new witch team for Acheron and surviving Hades thanks to help from the three new additions to the group.


End file.
